I've been a FOSS user and sometimes contributor since 1994 when I installed Linux with floppy disks, and have consistently watched FOSS lose the mainstream because they don't grasp the critical importance of UI/UX.
I want to write "it has to just work" on a sledgehammer and bash people about the head with it over and over again until they understand that user experience is f'ing EVERYTHING and every installation or setup step required to adopt something roughly halves adoption.
This is largely because we are in an age of time and attention poverty.
I don't want to see Arch Linux, for example, to start prioritizing for attracting non-technical users who want it to "just work."
Technical doesn't mean "unnecessarily complicated", it means "rich, expressive and built for users that are willing to spend some time to learn" (at least it should)
> Those who pay set the agenda for everything. And this different from non FOSS software how?
> Developing a truly polished operating system with a whole ecosystem of services is far, far beyond what volunteers and hobbyists can achieve.
As someone who uses Linux as my primary workstation I disagree. My coworkers that use Mac or Windows seem to have about the same number of issues overall. I mean- look at the article this is about. I’m pretty confident that would be much harder to get away with in the Linux community. Gnome shell is more polished than windows or macOS were at the same age.
> It also requires focus and coordination and someone who is able and willing to say no.
Clearly you haven’t dealt with the Gnome folks who are perfectly willing to say no to features some users scream for. Or read any of Linus’s rants about nvidia.
Edit: formatting